Container for cylindrical articles

ABSTRACT

A container for elongated articles such as cartridges, ampullae, and bottles, comprising a box having detachably inserted therein, a partition carrier with holes in at least one of the partitions for receiving the said articles and, if desired, also said carrier being provided with at least two series of abutment means different lengths arranged in such a way as to respectively become effective depending on whether the carrier is inserted into said box with one or the other side thereof forming the bottom of said container.

United States Patent inventor Johnny Vonk Hertogenbosch, NetherlandsAppl No. 761,941 Filed Sept. 24, 1968 Patented July 20, 1971 AssigneeNederlandsche Wapen-en Mluniteialbr Priority May 22, 1968 Netherlands68.0725

CONTAINER FOR CYLINDRICAL ARTICLES 3 Claims, 14 Drawing Figs.

Primary Examiner-George E. Lowrance Attorney-Walter Becker ABSTRACT: Acontainer for elongated articles such as cartridges, ampullae, andbottles, comprising ,a box having detachably inserted therein, apartition carrier with holes in at least one of the partitions forreceiving the said articles and, if

U.S. Cl 220/211, desired, also said carrier being provided with at leasttwo se- 206/3 ries of abutment means different lengths arranged in sucha Int. Cl 865d 25/06 way as to respectively become effective dependingon whether Field of Search 220/20, 21; the carrier is inserted into saidbox with one or the other side 206/3, 65 A thereof forming the bottom ofsaid container.

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fi/rf ain/yr The present invention relates to a container forsubstantially elongated articles, such as cartridges, ampullae, bottles,and the like, which comprises a box with a cover and a partitionedcarrier capable of being inserted into the box, the depth of insertionof the carrier into the box being defined by abutment elementscooperating with each other and mounted on both the carrier and the box.

A container of this kind for cartridges of small fire arms is known fromUS. Pat. No. 3,101,840. In this known container the interior is providedwith legs which are longer than the cartridges, so that the latter,which have thickened portions supported by the carrier, are clear of thebottom. The cover of the package is flush with the bottom of the shelland encloses the cartridges in the box when the package is closed.

As is well known, cartridges for small firearms are made in varioussizes. Even when the cartridges have the same diameter, their lengthsmay differ considerably. Hitherto each type of cartridge has had to bepackaged in separate boxes, but this requires the manufacture of manykinds of containers, thus increasing the cost of packaging.

It is an object of this invention to reduce the number of types ofcontainers by making a universal container to fit cartridges ofdifferent sizes. x

This object and other objects and advantages of the invention willappear more clearly from the following specification in connection withthe accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGS. l-4 show a container with the carrier placed in four differentpositions;

FIG. 5 is a cross section of the container taken along the line V V inFIG. 1;

FIG. 5a is a top view of the carrier shown in FIG. ll;

FIG. 6 is a vertical section of a box with ribs of different lengthsprovided on its sidewalls;

FIG. 7 is a vertical section of the same box, showing the op posite wallprovided with ribs;

FIG. 8 is a top view of a carrier belonging to the box shown in FIGS. 6and 7;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a box according to a further embodimentof this invention;

'FIG. 10 is a top view of the box shown in FIG. 9, wherein the ribs ofthe same lengths are designated by the same characters;

FIG. 11 is a top view of a carrier belonging to the box shown in FIGS. 9and 10;

FIG. 12 is a cross section of a carrier taken along the line XII-XII inFIG. 11.

To this end, according to the invention, the abutment elements are somounted on the box and the carrier that, when the carrier is moved intothe box in a first relative position, abutment elements will engage eachother. When the carrier is moved into the box in another relativeposition, the box and the carrier having been rotated through an anglerelative to each other as compared with their interrelationship in thefirst position, different abutment elements will engage each other,resulting in a different depth of insertion of the carrier.

In addition, the carrier, according to this invention, can be broughtinto another relative inserted position after rotation about an axis inthe direction of insertion.

Furthennore, the carrier, according to this invention, can

be brought into still another relative inserted position after rotationabout an axis normal to the direction of insertion.

Therefore, according to this invention, one type of carrier allows thesame box and cover to be used for packaging cartridges of at least fourand as many as eight different sizes.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, FIGS. 1-5ashow that thecontainer consists of a box 1 with a carrier 2 inserted therein and acover 3 adapted to be slipped over the box, the

' top of which cover is provided underneath with a lining 4 ofresilient, compressible material, such as foam rubber or plastic.

The carrier 2, sometimes referred to as the interior, consists of ahorizontal plate 5 having two parallel rows of circular holes 6 (FIG.5a) and partitions 7, 8 provided therebetween and mounted on the plate 5in a direction normal thereto. As

seen in cross section (FIG. 5), the longitudinal partition 7 and thehorizontal plate 5 together form a cross, the lower section of which islonger than or equal to the upper section. The longitudinal partition 7and the horizontal plate 5 are longitudinally divided into compartmentsby transverse partitions 8, with each compartment having a hole 6.

Each compartment is adapted to receive a cartridge 9 with the bullet l0upside down, said cartridge extending downwardly through the hole 6 withthe shoulder ll of the cartridge resting on that top surface portion ofplate 5 which is in the immediate vicinity of and defines the respectivehole 6. The cartridge is additionally supported in this verticalposition by the central partition 7, two transverse partitions 8 and onesidewall of the box ll. When all cartridges (in this particularembodiment 20) have been inserted into the carrier, the cover 3 isslipped over the box. With the cover in the closed position, all of thecartridges ridges have their bottoms I2 flush against the resilientlining 4 of the cover, and are thus held between said lining and theperforated plate 5.

In order to reduce the space between the partitions, discontinuouslongitudinal partitions 25 are secured on one side of the perforatedplate, the upper side in FIG. 5, to the outer ends of the transversepartitions (see FIG. 5a). The distance between the longitudinalpartitions 25 and the central partition 7 is slightly less than thedistance between the transverse partitions 8. In addition, the centralpartition 7 and the transverse partitions 8 may be provided withthickened portions 26, 27 to reduce the radial distance between thepartitions. The partitions 25 and the thickened portions 26 serve tolaterally hold cartridges with a smaller shell diameter than thecartridges that can be inserted on the other side of the perforatedplate. Since the distance between the bottom 12 of the cartridge and itsshoulder ii is not the same for different kinds of ammunition,provisions have been made, according to the invention, to support thecarrier at different levels in the box. To this end, according to FIGS.ll-5 four supports 13, i4, and 16 are mounted on the bottom and withinthe central plane of the box, asymmetric with respect to the transversecentral plane. Similarly, there are mounted on the central longitudinalpartition 7 of the carrier four supports 17-20, asymmetric with respectto the central transverse plane.

Position I In the position shown in FIG. II the supports of the carrierare in line with the supports of the box. so as to support the carrierat its highest level. This position is suitable for cartridges with ashort shell. The top of the carrier extends up to the top of the box.

Position II If the carrier is taken out of the box, turned on a verticalaxis through and inserted into the box again, it will be appreciatedthat due to the aforementioned asymmetry the supports of t carrier, asshown in FIG. 2, are no longer in line with the bottom supports, but aredisposed therebetween. The carrier is now pushed down until the centralpartition 7 rests on the bottom supports ll3-l6. The drawing clearlyshows that the distance from the perforated plate 5 to the upper edge ofthe box or to the resilient lining of the cover is greater than thecorresponding distance with the carrier in the position shown in FIG. 1,so that longer cartridges can be packed in this second arrangement.

Position III Reverting back to the position shown in FIG. I, the carrieris again taken out of the box, turned this time on its horizontal axisthrough I80, and reinserted into the box until the central partition 7abuts against the supports 13-116. This position is shown in FIG. 3. Thedistance from the perforated horizontal plate to the upper edge of thebox is 2 mm. longer than the corresponding distance in position ll shownin FIG. 2. The short longitudinal partitions 25 attached to thetransverse partitions 8 at the outer ends thereof are now on the bottomof the carrier. This implies that the compartments between partitions 7and 8 and the wall of the box are larger and are adapted to receivecartridges with a larger shell diameter.

Provided in the lower end of the central partition 7 are four recesses2l-24, asymmetric with respect to the central transverse plane.

Position IV.

If, starting from position III, the carrier is again taken out of thebox, turned on a vertical axis through 180, and reinserted into the box,the recesses 2I24 are in line with the bottom supports 13-46, whichenter said recesses. Hence, as is shown in FIG. 4, the distance betweenthe perforated plate 5 and the upper edge of the box is longer than inpositions II and III, so that cartridges with a greater shell length canbe packed in the same container. The partition 7 of the carrier has beenpulled up beside the support 20, and functions as a handle and as markerto facilitate proper positioning of the carrier.

With the embodiment of the container as shown in FIGS. 6, 7 and 8, thesupports are not positioned in the central longitudinal plane of thebox, but are in the form of ribs placed on the sidewalls. Thearrangement is such that short ribs 30 and long ribs 32 arealternatively mounted an equal distance apart along the walls so thatone wall is provided with six short ribs and five long ribs (FIG. 6) andthe other wall with six long ribs and five short ribs (FIG. 7). It is tobe understood that the number of ribs is not limited to 2X1 1.

If the carrier 29 should now be inserted into the box, the perforatedplate 32 (FIG. 8) would rest on the long ribs 31. To enable positioningat various levels, the perforated plate 32 is provided with five equallyspaced recesses on one side and six equally spaced recesses on the otherside. As is shown in FIG. 8, these recesses are on both sidessymmetrically offset with respect to each other.

With the carrier in the position shown in FIG. 8, the carrier issupported by the long ribs 31. After the carrier has been turned about ahorizontal or a vertical axis through 180, the long ribs 32 are in linewith the recesses 3335, and the carrier continues to move down until theperforated plate 32 engages the short ribs 30. As was the case with thefirst embodiment of this invention, here, too, four different positionsof the carrier are possible, so that four types of cartridges, which maydiffer in length or in diameter, can be packed therein.

The embodiment shown in FIGS. 9-I2 provides twice as many packagingpotentials as the embodiments of FIGS. 1-8. FIGS. 9 and 10 show that theribs A, B, C, D have four different lengths. On either side ten ribs areso positioned opposite to each other that two ribs of one length on onewall have associated therewith three ribs of corresponding length on theother wall, so that the carrier is always supported by five ribs. Againthe perforated plate 39 of the carrier is provided with recesses 36, 37and rounded-off corners 38, which will or will not be in line with ribsof a specific length according to the various positions of the carrier.In this embodiment the central partition 41 is also provided withopenings 40 for cartridges and with recesses corresponding to therecesses in the perforated plate 39. The openings 40 have a differentdiameter than do the holes 42 in the perforated plate 39, so that afterthe carrier has been turned about its longitudinal axis by there arefour new possibilities of packaging cartridges of different lengths anddifferent diameters.

It is to be understood of course, that the present invention is not tobe limited by the specification or drawings, but will be determined bythe scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

I. A container for substantially elongated articles, especiallycartridges, ampullae, and bottles, which comprises: a box, and apartitioned carrier having a vertical central axis and a longitudinalaxis and adapted to be inserted into and to be withdrawn from said box,said box and said carrier being provided with at least two series ofcooperating abutment means operable respectively to become effectivewhen inserting said carrier into said box in a first position and wheninserting said carrler into sand box after tummg said carrier by aboutone of said two axes relative to said first position, said box having abottom, sidewalls, and end walls, and being open at the top, saidcarrier when inserted in said box having first partition means extendingsubstantially parallel to said bottom and also having second partitionmeans substantially parallel to said end walls and also having thirdpartition means substantially parallel to said sidewalls, said firstpartition means being provided with holes having their axessubstantially perpendicular to the plane of said first partition means,said third partition means being provided with abutment membersprotruding from one longitudinal free edge and also being provided withrecess means on its opposite longitudinal free edge, said last mentionedrecess means being offset with regard to said abutment members in thelongitudinal direction of said carrier.

2. A container according to claim 1, which comprises: a cover open atthe bottom and provided with a top wall and sidewalls and also havingend walls and abutment means in the interior of said cover forengagement with top edges of said box.

3. A container according to claim 2, which includes shock absorbinglining means inside said cover and on said top wall.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3 593,873 Dated July 20 1971 Inventor(s) It is certified that error appearsin the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are herebycorrected as shown below:

On the cover sheet [72] "Hertogenbosch" should read 'sI- ertogenbosch[73] "Nederlandsche Wapen en Munitiefabr" should read NederlandscheWapenen Munitiefabriek De Kruithoorn N.V. [31] "68 .0725" should read 68.072 51 Signed and sealed this 10th day of October 1972.

(SEAL) Attest:

ROBERT GOTTSCHALK EDWARD M.FLETCHER,JR.

Commissioner of Patents Attesting Officer FORM USCOMM-DC scan-Pee Q Ls.GOVERNMENT PRINTIuG OFFIC 2 l9. 0-3-33.

1. A container for substantially elongated articles, especiallycartridges, ampullae, and bottles, which comprises: a box, and apartitioned carrier having a vertical central axis and a longitudinalaxis and adapted to be inserted into and to be withdrawn from said box,said box and said carrier being provided with at least two series ofcooperating abutment means operable respectively to become effectivewhen inserting said carrier into said box in a first position and wheninserting said carrier into said box after turning said carrier by 180*about one of said two axes relative to said first position, said boxhaving a bottom, sidewalls, and end walls, and being open at the top,said carrier when inserted in said box having first partition meansextending substantially parallel to said bottom and also having secondpartition means substantially parallel to said end walls and also havingthird partition means substantially parallel to said sidewalls, saidfirst partition means being provided with holes having their axessubstantially perpendicular to the plane of said first partition means,said third partition means being provided with abutment membersprotruding from one longitudinal free edge and also being provided withrecess means on its opposite longitudinal free edge, said last mentionedrecess means being offset with regard to said abutment members in thelongitudinal direction of said carrier.
 2. A container according toclaim 1, which comprises: a cover open at the bottom and provided with atop wall and sidewalls and also having end walls and abutment means inthe interior of said cover for engagement with top edges of said box. 3.A container according to claim 2, which includes shock absorbing liningmeans inside said cover and on said top wall.